In Mexico, the 288 cases of whooping cough registered so far by the National Epidemiological Surveillance System are attributed to low vaccination rates in children and lack of vaccination among parents, according to warned the medical specialist in Epidemiology Óscar Sosa. The Ministry of Health has confirmed 120 cases of the disease in the country, with another 460 possible cases just in the first two months of 2025.
Sosa pointed out that, while anti-vaccine groups have affected the healthcare system, their focus tends to be on the measles vaccine, based on the unfounded belief that the vaccine causes autism in children. The lack of vaccination coverage has been a crucial factor in the spread of the disease.
Whooping cough, an acute respiratory disease caused by the bacterium "Bordetella pertussis," is transmitted through saliva droplets from infected people when they cough or sneeze. Symptoms include sudden cough, difficulty breathing, vomiting, and bluish lips. Treatment consists of using clarithromycin and erythromycin.
Although the mortality rate from whooping cough is not high compared to other respiratory diseases, it can endanger the patient's life and lead to complications such as pneumonia. The hexavalent vaccine protects against whooping cough, polio, hepatitis B, tetanus, type B influenza, and diphtheria.
Regarding vaccination coverage in Mexico, in 2022, 81.1% of children under one year received the hexavalent dose at the national level. For children over one year, the coverage percentage was 84.25%. In 2018, there were 2,801,810 doses of the hexavalent vaccine available, and in 2019, the number increased to 5,461,417. However, in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, no availability of the whooping cough vaccine and six other diseases was reported.
